Big names such as Holmgren (or Jon Gruden, or Brian Billick) can find it hard to get back in, or at least in the right spot. And post-football work as a television analyst or radio host is frankly a lot easier than coaching, but the draw is undeniable.

“I know guys who coached after 65,” he said. “I thought I would. The more I’m moving away from it, it’s flattering when you get a call from somebody. It strokes your ego. Then you start to think, Hey, I could do that! I mean, I miss it. I miss the coaching. I miss it.”

“I’m quote-unquote retired, . . .I’m semi-retired.”

That kind of ambivalence is not uncommon among old coaches, and the portrait Bishop paints of Holmgren is of a man torn. He knows the grind, he knows the stress, and he knows the access to his family he has now won’t be the same if he gets back in.

After he suffered from the fate of being a coach of the Hapless Green Bay Packers, he never recovered.

I actually have sympathy for this man.

A sad, sad story.

pkrlvr says:Jul 17, 2014 1:47 PM

Now we know where Favre got his indecisiveness!

steelerben says:Jul 17, 2014 1:51 PM

The problem with bringing back a marquee coach after he’s been retired for a while is that the game passes them by. When Rod Marinelli is better at coaching the Tampa 2 then Monte Kiffen, Joe Gibbs’ second stint with the Skins showed why he’s better off staying in NASCAR and Jay Gruden getting a head coaching gig before Jon, it shows that you’re much better off getting a fresh face.

Still better though if you can lock down a younger person who can handle the grind much better, and they might have better ideas of how to run a team than Holmgren anyhow. Nothing wrong with shooting for the best on both ends and a team that can find the quality young talent and lock that down for the future has greater upside potential to tap into. Plus there is a great chance of saving a lot of salary cost while still getting a better overall coach or manager or executive. If you can win better and increase profits, then that’s the best case scenario you want to diligently strive for.

I translate that to read I would’ve taken the Skins job w/total control or another big job as long as I have total control as a Coach and GM type. But short of that, I won’t, and I doubt I will be offered that again.

skolvikesskol says:Jul 17, 2014 2:00 PM

Would you want a player in his same situation? Thumbs for yes, down for no.

if he really missed the coaching, he has but to make a call, and someone would hire him to coach their offense. he misses the big check and the big attention.

Grulks says:Jul 17, 2014 2:30 PM

No head coach has ever one a superbowl with more than one team. I dont think that it ever will happen. What works for a team, in a given time, is not universally successful. If that were the case, teams would just copycat coaching styles, and whomever got closest would win.

The game is fluid, and changes quickly every 5-6 years or so: defenses went from rigid, to flex, to multiple set defenses. Offenses went from: run only, to lateral passing, to fwd pass, to west coast, to pass first, to wild cat, to read option.

I dont think a coach exists that COULD immediately win with one team, and then rapidly switch to another and win. Jon Gruden was probably closest, be he had the foresight of knowing almost everything about the Raiders in the “gruden” bowl.

jwcarlson says:
Could have been a legend in GB if he would have waited for the GM job instead of leaving to be coach/GM in Seattle. I think he could have won another one with Favre.

He would have certainly been better than Ray Rhodes and Mike Sherman.
——-

The GM position was owned by Ron Wolfe, until Ron Wolfe didn’t want it anymore. Ron changed the entire culture of the green bay packers. Trading for favre, giving reggie what he wanted and hiring Holmgren were the 3 keys to Green Bay getting out of the basement. If it wasn’t for Ron, the past 20 years we’d be what the vikings were.

Mike is a great coach, but a VERY bad GM. He can coach up talent, but he’s very bad at finding talent. He would be a GREAT new coach for the Dallas Cowboys. But, hiring him means you have to hire a competent general manager to replace Jerruh Jones. If, and this is a huge IF, you can get Holmgren as coach and get Jerruh to step into an Owner only role, and find a new GM.. Those Cowboys could become a dynasty.

It’ll never happen.

mogogo1 says:Jul 17, 2014 2:42 PM

I feel like he wasted a lot of years trying to be a GM when his true calling was as a coach.

Go away! Never come back and ruin someone’s team like you did mine. How does his EGO fit indoors? As good of a coach he may have been he is equally horrible in the front office. Go Browns! Watch out where ever this guy goes, he will chew up your franchise and spit it out skin and bones.

gutcheck907 says:Jul 17, 2014 2:45 PM

the guy did nothing good in CLE and made 50 million dollars. He is a supposed qb guru and drafted Weeden. He was critical of the Browns for trading Richardson-boy that was right on. He needs to ride off into the sunset and count his money he stole for doing nothing

I’m a Hawks Fan and I was sad to see Holmgren go. He would have had more success if it wasn’t for Tim Ruskell. Obviously the change worked out but I still hold him in high regard. And his team in Cleveland had a lot of good pieces in place. More than people want to give him credit for.

For those who weren’t paying attention, this man quit on the Packers at half time of the super bowel during his last year in Green Bay. It has been widely reported that the Packer players confirmed that he refused to change anything about his game plan at half time, and just wanted the game over. For that reason I have no respect for this man, and I use the word man loosely, and their is no warm and fuzzy relationship with any of his former players on that team.

For those who weren’t paying attention, this man quit on the Packers at half time of the super bowel during his last year in Green Bay. It has been widely reported that the Packer players confirmed that he refused to change anything about his game plan at half time, and just wanted the game over. For that reason I have no respect for this man, and I use the word man loosely, and their is no warm and fuzzy relationship with any of his former players on that team.
————————————————————-
Ya, because Green Bay was winning all of those Super Bowls before he got there huh?

Toughen up buttercup…..

Go Hawks

tedmurph says:Jul 17, 2014 4:18 PM

Holmgren and Gruden to Miami next yr.

tigersfandan says:Jul 17, 2014 4:35 PM

steelerben says:
Jul 17, 2014 1:51 PM
The problem with bringing back a marquee coach after he’s been retired for a while is that the game passes them by. When Rod Marinelli is better at coaching the Tampa 2 then Monte Kiffen, Joe Gibbs’ second stint with the Skins showed why he’s better off staying in NASCAR and Jay Gruden getting a head coaching gig before Jon, it shows that you’re much better off getting a fresh face.
____________________________________

Ya, because Green Bay was winning all of those Super Bowls before he got there huh?

Toughen up buttercup…..

Go Hawks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, they did win that one the previous year (their 3rd of 4 Superbowl wins in 5 tries and their 12th of 13 World Championships). Your Hawks were great last year, I’ll give you that, but come back and let me know when they achieve the Packers’ level of success.

If he’s willing to wait a few seasons, the Viking head coach job will open up and we all know how much the Vikings love Packer retreads.

alankelly2013 says:Jul 17, 2014 5:50 PM

He was a pretty darn good coach for the Seahawks. We like him a lot out here. We hold him is very high regard. He got his team messed up by that idiot Tim Ruskell staring right after their Superbowl appearence until the coach left in 2008. But he had put together a pretty good team that dominated the NFC West for about 5 seasons. It took them a little too long though to get to the top so when they finally got to that superbowl their window was already closing. It would have been nice to get that just a couple of years earlier. The potential was there, just couldn’t quite get it done. That’s what makes this young team right now so exciting. This could be quite the run ahead of us.

Mike Holmgren rode Brett Favre’s coattails to 1 super bowl win, then got unbelievably outcoached the following year, and lost to a very inferior Denver team. At Seattle he did nothing but get really lucky 1 time, then coached that game not to lose, instead of doing what a horrific underdog should always do, and go for broke. Because he was a good little assistant, every NFL coach vouched for him and he got a rep. As a GM, he was a total joke, look at what he left Seattle, and my God, look at his history in Cleveland. Does Brandon Weedon in the 1st freaking round, make any sense. Any team that would hire him now, is a poor excuse for a franchise.

pacodawg says:Jul 17, 2014 7:01 PM

Should b charged with theft with the cash he stole from the browns

mackcarrington says:Jul 17, 2014 7:05 PM

It’s interesting, though, how he made sure that he got most of his Cleveland money before making noises about getting back in the game.

hawkforlife says:Jul 17, 2014 10:47 PM

Lousy GM, fair coach, has no people skills on the field. Just take your money and go on an extended vacation.